Authority Update

This update contains brief details of recent Government publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to those involved in local government work, which have been published in the two weeks up to 7 February 2014. Items are set out by subject, with a link to where the full document can be found on the internet.

This update contains brief details of recent Government
publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to
those involved in local government work, which have been published
in the previous two weeks. Items are set out by subject, with a
link to where the full document can be found on the internet.

If you have been forwarded this update by a colleague and would
like to receive it direct please email
Claire Booth.

All links are correct at the date of publication. The following
topics are covered in this update:

DH: Care Bill impact assessments: the
Government has published a series of impact assessments alongside
the Care Bill that look at the problems that the Bill aims to
address, the policy objectves and options that have been
considered, and that compare the costs, benefits and impact of
the options. They include impact assessments on:

brings about the closure of the Audit Commission and in its
place create a new framework for local audit;

extends council tax referendum provisions introduced in the
Localism Act 2011 so local taxpayers can veto excessive council tax
increases;

gives the Secretary of State (SoS) power to direct a local
authority to comply with the code of recommended practice as
regards publicity issued under s.4 LGA 1986; and

gives the SoS power to make regulations allowing the public to
record, film or tweet council meetings.

Most of the Act comes into force on a day or days to be
appointed. Some of the council tax referendum provisions came into
force on 30 January, and the Publicity Code and Access to Meetings
provisions come into force on 30 March 2014. (30 January
2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Olwen
Dutton.

DfE: S31 Grant determination letter for Adoption
Reform Grant (2014-15): this letter from Shirley Trundle,
Director at DfE, sets out the allocations, by local
authority, of the Adoption Reform Grant. Local authorities can
spend this one-off grant to recognise the programmes of change
underway in the area of adoption. They can choose how best to spend
the money in order to meet local need. (31 January 2014)

DfE: Letter to all childminders in England from
Elizabeth Truss: this letter informs childminders about
government reforms designed to make it easier to work as a
childminder and to attract new people into the profession. These
reforms include: making it easier for childminders to access
government funding; the introduction of childminder agencies;
changes to local authority networks and support; and how
childminders can work with schools in providing childcare before
and after school. (3 February 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Clare Taylor.

Adamson v Paddico (267) Ltd; Taylor (on behalf of the
Society for the Protection of Markham & Litte Francis) v Betterment
Properties (Weymouth) Ltd [2014] UKSC 7 (Sup Ct): in these two
joined cases concerning rectification of the Commons Register, the
Surpreme Court considered the effect of the lapse of
time between the registration of land as a village
green and the application to rectify. In the first case
(Paddico) the application to rectify was made 12 years
after registration; in the second case (Betterment) the
residents appealed against the decision to allow rectification nine
years after it was made.
The court held, allowing the appeals in part, that there was
no limitation period for applications under s.14 of the Commons
Registration Act 1965 - it simply required the rectification to be
"just", with no bias either for or against rectification. The
best analogy to apply would be with the equitable doctrine of
laches, which generally required (a) knowledge of the facts, and
(b) acquiescence, or (c) detriment or prejudice - the
last would usually be the crux of the matter. There
were at least four categories of prejudice which might be
relevant: to the local inhabitants; to other individuals; to public
authorities and the public they served; and to the fair hearing of
the case. Applying these principles to these two case, the
court dismissed the appeal in Betterment, agreeing with the Court
of Appeal that the lapse of time was a material factor but was
not such as to allow the appeal; there was no evidence of
prejudice and no material from which the likelihood of prejudice
could be inferred. In Paddico, the court allowed the appeal:
although the lapse of time was much greater than in
Betterment, the law was in a considerable state of flux during
much of this time. Paddico would suffer injustice as a result of
being wrongly deprived of the right to seek to develop the land,
the company would suffer injustice in being deprived of the
likelihood that they would benefit from the overage provisions in
the sale contract and the public would suffer prejudice in the land
not being available for the use to which the democratic planning
procedures had decided that it should eventually be put. (5
February 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Kathryn Lawrance.

Locality / LGA: Our Place programme:
information on a new DCLG initiative which aims to give people
more power over local services and budgets in their neighbourhoods,
with a £4.3m package of support and grants. Our
Place follows on from the Neighbourhood Community Budgets
Pilot Programme. It is now inviting applications for grants from
eligible bodies (including charitable, philanthropic or benevolent
organisations, parish and town councils, public service
providers and local authorities in England). The
programme opened to applications on 20 January 2014 and will run
through to 31 March 2015l however, it expects a surge in
applications and so urges anyone thinking of applying
to submit their applications as soon as possible. (31 January
2014)

DCLG: Allotment disposal guidance – Safeguards and
alternatives: updated statutory guidance on the criteria that
councils must meet in order to obtain the Secretary of State’s
consent to dispose of allotment land under s.8 of the Allotments
Act 1925. The criteria themselves have not been altered but their
scope has been clarified. The guidance replaces the letter sent to
local authority chief executives in February 2002 and sets out,
much more robustly, the factors that the SoS will consider when
deciding whether to give consent. It provides much greater
accountability and transparency for local authorities, allotment
holders and members of the public wanting to know how decisions
have been reached. The guidance also explains how councils and
local residents can make good use of the new community rights
introduced by the Localism Act 2011, including neighbourhood
planning and the Community Right to Bid. (30 January 2014)

LGA: Briefing for Opposition Day debate – Pub
companies: the LGA is calling on pub companies to operate a
fair-playing field to offer the greatest chance of survival to
community pubs. Its proposals include: a ban by competition bodies
on the use of restrictive covenants that enable big breweries
to sell community pubs and stop them from being reopened;
and giving more communities a say in what happens to their
local pub. (21 January 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Olwen
Dutton.

DCLG: Change of use – New homes: the
Planning Minister Nick Boles has made a statement to Parliament on
the Government's policy enabling offices to convert to homes
without having to apply for full planning permission.
He announced that DCLG is writing to eight local
authorities who have made directions which prevent such office
to home conversions, requesting that they consider reducing
the extent of their directions so that they are more targeted. This
will ensure that offices which should legitimately benefit from
this national right can do so. Ministers are also thinking of
cancelling Article 4 permitted development directions which seek to
re-impose unjustified or blanket regulation, given the clearly
stated public policy goal of liberalising the planning rules and
helping provide more homes. (6 February 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Kathryn Lawrance.

DCLG: Over £400 million boost for business and
local economies: announces that 12 Enterprise Zones have been
shortlisted to receive a share of £100m funding for business
infrastructure. In addition, eight universities can bid for part of
a £15m fund to establish University Enterprise Zones. It also
announces that small retail businesses are eligible for a new
special retail discount, worth £1,000, on their business rates -
see below. (29 January
2014)

DPM's Office: Oxford and Oxfordshire City
Deal: the Deputy Prime Minister has signed the Oxford and
Oxfordshire City Deal that will see major improvements in
local roads and public transport specifically tailored to link
universities with the city’s major industrial and research areas.
Road links to the Science Vale Enterprise Zone will be improved,
and the first phase of the new Science Transit public transport
scheme will begin. In addition, a network of four new
innovation centres will give Oxford the tools to really make the
most of its world-renowned science and research, creating jobs and
driving the local economy for years to come. (30 January
2014)

DPM's Office: Black Country City Deal: this
City Deal builds on the long history and high performance of Black
Country manufacturing and supports the growth of high value
manufacturing, particularly in the automotive and aerospace
sectors. It covers the areas of Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley
and Sandwell. (3 February 2014)

Welsh Government: Technical Advice Note (TAN)
23 – Economic development: this revied
TAN provides guidance for Welsh local planning authorities on
the national planning policy on economic development set out in
Chapter 7 of Planning Policy Wales, including: developing high
level economic planning objectives; assessing the economic benefits
of new development; economic development and the rural economy;
preparing an evidence base for a Local Development Plan; creating
an economic development vision for a Local Development Plan; and
determining employment land supply. (7 February 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Mark Calverley.

DfE: School organisation – Maintained
schools: statutory guidance for governing bodies, local
authorities and decision makers on opening, closing, or making
school organisation changes to maintained schools. It sets out how
those changes can be made, and the areas where a statutory process
must be followed. (28 January 2014)

DfE: Making significant changes to an existing
academy: advice for academy trusts that helps them to
understand what they need to do before making a significant change
to their existing arrangements. It sets out the steps that an
academy trust needs to follow to enable that change, with
examples of what would be considered a significant change. It
includes the main components of the business case that has to be submitted to
the Education Funding Agency to propose the change. (29
January 2014)

DfE: Policy review – Asbestos management in
schools: seeks views on the DfE's policy on asbestos
management in schools. In particular, it would like to hear
from those that are involved in the day-to-day management of
asbestos in schools, about their experiences and how they
think DfE can support schools to fulfil their
responsibilities. The consultation closes on 31 March
2014. (31 January 2014)

DfE: Behaviour and discipline in schools:
updated guidance for school leaders and school staff that
explains staff members' powers to discipline pupils. It is for
individual schools to develop their own best practice for managing
behaviour in their school. The updated guidance includes new advice
on sanctions for poor behaviour. (3 February 2014)
Ofsted has announced the start of a rolling programme of
unannounced visits to schools where standards of behaviour are
giving cause for concern.

DfE: Supporting pupils at school with medical
conditions: seeks views on draft statutory guidance on
governing bodies' new duty under the Children and Families Bill
that is currently before Parliament. Once in force, the new
duty will require governing bodies to make arrangements for
supporting pupils at school with medical conditions. The
consultation closes on 14 March 2014. (3 February 2014)

DfE: Post-16 transport to education and
training: Statutory guidance to local authorities on
their duty under s.509AA of the Education Act 1996 to prepare
and publish an annual post-16 transport policy statement. The
policy statement must detail the transport provision for everyone
of sixth form age receiving education or training. (5 February
2014)

Further and Higher Education (Governance and
Information) (Wales) Act 2014: this Act has received Royal
Assent and comes into force on a day to be appointed by the Welsh
Ministers. It seeks to enhance the autonomy and decision making
abilities of Welsh Further Education Institutions by removing and
modifying existing legislative controls on them. The Act also gives effect to the Welsh Government policy
to allow data relevant to student grants and loans to be shared by
HMRC) with the Welsh Ministers and anyone to whom the Welsh
Ministers delegate or transfer functions. (27 January
2014)

Cabinet Office: Funding for new ways to encourage
voter registration: announces that every local authority in
Great Britain will receive a share of £4.2m funding aimed at
ensuring that everyone in the country is signed up to the electoral
register and has their chance to vote. In addition, five national
organisations have been selected to receive funding to find new
ways of reaching out to groups who feel most distant from the
political process, and encouraging them to get involved in politics
and register to vote. (5 February 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Olwen
Dutton.

DCLG: Severe weather recovery scheme:
information on support to local authorities in England that
incurred, or will incur recovery costs as a result of flooding
caused by the east coast tidal surge on 5 and 6 December 2013
and/or severe weather up to 7 February 2014. The scheme covers 2
elements: supporting communities; and repairing local highway
infrastructure. This funding is in addition to the Bellwin scheme,
insurance and the existing central and local government obligations
and programmes. The closing date for applications is 19 February
2014. (4 February 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Jon Coane.

DECC: Community Energy Strategy: this Strategy
lays the foundation for future growth of community energy in the
UK, focusing on creating a supportive environment for community
energy and removing specific barriers to growth. It explains how
the Government is supporting community energy across the four
strands of generation, reduction, management and purchasing. It
sets out the role that communities can play in helping to meet the
UK’s energy and climate change challenges, including supporting a
sustainable and secure energy system, reducing UK greenhouse gas
emissions and lowering consumer bills. It stresses that, while
Government can support community-led action on energy, to realise
the full potential of community energy requires concerted support
from many different organisations, and it gives examples of
partnerships and collaborations.
The plans include:

£10m Urban Community Energy Fund to kick-start community energy
generation projects in England;

£1m Big Energy Saving Network funding to support the work of
volunteers helping vulnerable consumers to reduce their
energy;

a community energy saving competition, offering £100,000 to
communities to develop innovative approaches to saving energy and
money; and

a “one-stop shop” information resource for people interested in
developing community energy projects.

The Government is challenging community energy groups to think
about how they can work best with new partners, such as LEPs or
local businesses, to make the most of these opportunities. (27
January 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Christopher Jarman.

Welsh Audit Office: Meeting the financial
challenges facing local government in Wales: this report
provides an overview of the extent to which councils in Wales are
responding to the financial pressures they face. It explores the
effectiveness of their financial planning, their approach to
financial decision making and the actions they are taking to
minimise the impact of significant budget cuts. It also considers
the extent to which councils understand the impact of their actions
and provides some early thoughts on the implications of the 2013
Spending Review for local government in Wales. The WAO concludes
that many councils in Wales do not have clear and realistic plans
to deliver efficiency savings and do not routinely base their
strategic plans on sound financial information. (27 January
2014)

DCLG/HCA: Affordable Homes Programme 2015-18:
DCLG and the HCA have launched the new Affordable Homes Programme,
inviting housing associations, councils and housebuilders to bid
for a share of £1.7bn government funding to deliver 165,000 new
homes between 2015 and 2018. The bid system opens on 6 February and
closes on 30 April 2014. (27 January 2014)

DCLG: New review into how more social homes can be
built: announces an independent review into how more social
homes can be built.The review, led by Natalie Elphicke, chair of
Million Homes, Million Lives, and Keith House, Leader of Eastleigh
BC, will assess if councils are making sufficient use of their
existing powers and flexibilities to deliver new social housing. It
will also consider how councils can work more closely with housing
associations, housebuilders and businesses to build more new
homes. (30 January 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact David Isaacson.

Welsh Audit Office: Indemnity for libel
counterclaim – Carmarthenshire County Council: Report in the
Public Interest: the WAO has issued a Public Interest report
that draws attention to Carmarthenshire CC's decision to indemnify
the Chief Executive in respect of the costs of a libel
counterclaim. The auditor concludes that under the Local
Authorities (Indemnities for Members and Officers) (Wales) Order
2006, the Council was not authorised by statute to grant an
indemnity in respect of bringing a claim or counterclaim for
defamation and it could not rely on s.111 of the Local Government
Act 1972 to avoid that limitation on its powers. The Executive
Board's decision to grant the indemnity was therefore unlawful and
any payment made pursuant to that decision would give rise to an
item of account which was ‘contrary to law’. The report recommends
that the Council should rescind the decision and withdraw the
indemnity granted to the Chief Executive. (29 January 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Olwen
Dutton.

MoJ: New planning court gets go ahead to support UK
growth: announces a package of reforms to judicial review,
including a new Planning Court that will fast-track legal disputes
over major developments, and changes to the
rules regarding liability for the costs of judicial review
cases. (6 February 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Virginia Cooper.

Welsh Audit Office: Senior officers’ pay and
pensions – Reports in the Public Interest: the WAO
has issued two reports that look at decisions of
Carmarthenshire CC and Pembrokeshire CC allowing senior officers
to opt out of the Local Government Pension Scheme in order to
avoid potential tax liabilities, and be paid a ‘supplement’,
equivalent to their pension contributions, to enable them to make
their own arrangements for retirement. The Appointed Auditor
concludes that the councils' decisions were unlawful. The
councils could not use their powers to set reasonable remuneration
for the avoidance or mitigation of the effect of pensions
legislation. There were also failings in governance arrangements
and inadequacies in the processes to determine the pay of senior
officers which also rendered the decisions unlawful. (29
January 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Olwen
Dutton.

Home Office: £20 million reward for police
innovation: announces that every police force in England and
Wales will receive a share of £20m funding from
the Police Innovation Fund for projects aimed at transforming
policing. The Fund will be established from 2014/15 and will be
worth up to £50m a year. However, ahead of its full year of
operation, the Home Office has made a precursor fund of £20m
available to police and crime commissioners in 2013/14. (16
January 2014)

Home Office: Police grant report 2014 to
2015: sets out the Home Secretary’s determination for 2014 to
2015 of the aggregate amount of grants for police purposes that she
proposes to pay and the amount of grant she proposes to pay each
local policing body, comprising the Home Office police core
settlement, DCLG formula funding and legacy council tax grants. The
report also states the considerations that the Home Secretary took
into account in making her determination. (5 February 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Olwen
Dutton.

R (Trafford) v Blackpool BC [2014] EWHC 85 (Admin) (Admin
Ct): T, a solicitor, applied for judicial review of the
Council's decision to refuse to offer her a new lease of her office
premises. T had a three year lease of a unit in a building that was
owned and operated by the Council. The lease was contracted out of
Part IIof the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Her law
firm specialised in personal injury claims and she had
acted for a number of clients who had brought "tripping" claims
against the Council. The council advised T that it would not renew
her lease at the end of the term as the nature of T's business was
wholly contrary to the stated aims and objectives of the
Council. T applied for judicial review, contending that the Council
had exercised its power to dispose of land under s.123
LGA 1972 for the improper or unauthorised purpose of seeking to
cause detriment to her, even though her firm was acting entirely
lawfully in assisting local people to obtain access to justice.
The court held, granting the application, that the
exercise of a power with the sole or the dominant intention of
punishing T and subjecting her firm to a detriment, in
circumstances where there was no evidence that she was actually
doing anything at all unlawful or improper, was the intentionally
improper exercise of the power conferred on the Council and
the exercise of that power for unauthorised purposes. The effect of
the decision was that the Council had decided, by reference
to T's firm's professional activities as the Council had
decided them to be, and in advance of any request T might make
for a new tenancy, that it was not prepared to consider any such
application on its merits, by reference to its published tenant
selection criteria. Also, the Council had fettered its
discretion by deciding in advance that it was simply not going to
entertain any request by T for a new tenancy, regardless as to
whether or not she satisfied the tenancy selection criteria.
Furthermore, the decision was Wednesbury unreasonable. (24 January
2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Olwen
Dutton.

Cabinet Office: New models of construction
procurement: the Government has published draft guidance on new
models of construction procurement, based on best practice in
public sector construction. These will enable both central and
local government bodies to work with industry in a consistent and
collaborative way, building long term stable partnerships between
client and suppliers. The models provide modern, innovative methods
and tools, allowing clients to lead change and drive positive
results. The guidance consists of:

The guidance documents have been issued as draft so that they
can be road-tested before a formal launch in summer 2014. (29
January 2014)

Cabinet Office: Public Services (Social Value) Act
2012 – One year on: this paper reviews the implementation
of the 2012 Act that requires commissioners to think about how
they can secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits
when procuring services. It outlines how commissioners have
responded to the Act during its first year, and looks at the
Government’s plans to advance social value in the future. (31
January 2014)

PPN 02/14: Extension of the Mystery Shopper
service: announces the decision to extend the Cabinet Office’s
Mystery Shopper service to carry out spot checks on procurement
processes as well as continuing to deal with referrals raised by
SMEs and other concerned suppliers. Spot checks will be undertaken
by examining procurement documents, usually online, on procurement
portals and checking for compliance with the relevant PPNs. (7
February 2014)

PPN 03/14: Measures to promote tax compliance:
sets out the scope and background of the new policy requiring all
suppliers bidding for central government contracts >£5m from
April 2013 to self-certify their tax compliance. (7 February
2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Elizabeth Cooper.

British Academy: "If you could do one thing ..."
– Nine local actions to reduce health
inequalities: this collection of nine proposals from
leading social scientists sets out ways that local authorities
could improve the health of their communities and reduce health
inequalities. Each of the authors has identified one policy
intervention that they think local authorities could introduce to
improve the health of the local population and reduce health
inequalities. The report highlights successful case studies, as
well as encouraging councils to collaborate, share information, and
build good relationships with local academics from the social
sciences. (16 January 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Olwen
Dutton.

DCLG: Business rates – Retail relief
guidance: the Government announced in the Autumn Statement on 5
December 2013 that it will provide a business rates discount of up
to £1,000 to all occupied retail properties with a rateable value
of £50,000 or less in each of the years 2014/15 and 2015/16. This
document provides guidance to local authorities about the operation
and delivery of that retail relief. (29 January 2014)

Deregulation Bill: this Bill has been
introduced into the Commons and received its 2nd Reading. The Bill
proposes a range of measures in line with the Government’s aim to
reduce burdens on businesses and public authorities. Its provisions
include the repeal of a number of legislative duties placed on
local authorities:

repeal of s.4 LGA 2000 that requires local authorities to
produce a ‘sustainable community strategy;

repeal of ss.105-113 LG&PIH Act 2007 removing the duty
to prepare and submit Local Area Agreements;

Control of Horses (Wales) Act 2014: this Act
has received Royal Assent and comes into force on 28 January 2014.
It gives Welsh local authorities power to seize,
impound, sell or otherwise dispose of horses (including by
arranging for their destruction) which are on land in their area
without lawful authority. It also gives them power to recover costs
where the owner or person acting for the owner can be
identified. (27 January 2014)

LGA: Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 – Compliance
and enforcement guide: sets out the new enforcement powers
and tools that will be available to councils, and in some instances
the police, under the new Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. It forms
part of a set of guides to help councils understand their
responsibilities under the new Act. (4 February 2014)

LGA: Open for business – Rewiring
licensing: the LGA is calling for full reform of the
licensing framework to deliver a deregulatory approach that frees
up business and council time while maintaining important safeguards
for local communities and businesses. (4 February 2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Adam Kendall.

HM Treasury: Social investment roadmap: sets
out the Government's plans to extend support in the tax system for
the ways that people can invest in social enterprise in 2014. The
actions include: expanding the options for indirect investment;
establishing a government-run accreditation scheme for Social
Impact Bonds eligible for social investment tax relief; making
changes to community interest companies’ regulations; and promoting
the scheme to investors and social enterprises. The social
investment tax relief will be available for private investment in
charities, community interest companies and community benefit
societies, and in social impact bonds where the special purpose
vehicle is a company limited by shares. The Government has
already announced that organisations with 500 or fewer
employees will be eligible for the relief; it will announce the
rate and the maximum amount of investment eligible per organisation
at Budget. There is also a timeline for the plans. (30 January
2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Matthew Waters.

Audit Commission: Councils’ expenditure on benefits
administration: this Value for Money briefing considers
published data on demand for housing benefit and council tax
benefit, and the costs of administering them, up to April 2013. It
also considers two aspects of councils’ performance where national
data are available: how quickly they process new claims and changes
of circumstances; and levels of overpayments and fraud. (30 January
2014)

If you wish to discuss any of the items noted in this section
please contact Jon Coane.

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